Uber Passengers Accuse Drivers Of ‘Vomit Fraud’

This isn’t a new scam but the ride-sharing company hasn’t fixed the complaint customers are calling “vomit fraud”. It’s a scam where Uber drivers send false images of vomit in their vehicles to the company in order to charge passengers “clean up” fees.

After a passenger is dropped off at their destination, they receive a notification from Uber stating there was an “adjustment” to their bill and an additional charge between $80 and $150.

That’s no small charge so customers are obviously curious as to why they are expected to pay. When they reach out to Uber the response is more messages saying that the additional charges are due to an incident on their trip and “clean up” fees along with photos of vomit somewhere in the vehicle.

Uber policy is to charge at least $80 if a passenger has spilled a drink in a vehicle with a surface that is difficult to clean. If “significant quantities of bodily fluids (urine, blood or vomit)” are left in the vehicle, drivers are allowed to charge up to $150 in order to compensate drivers for the extra time spent cleaning their cars.

Uber reportedly told the El Nuevo Herald, that it did not have specific numbers of fraud cases but that most cleaning fee reports were legitimate and it is “actively looking into reports where fraud may be detected and will take appropriate actions on those accounts.”